Maxine Aldridge White

Maxine Aldridge White (born 1951) is an American attorney and retired judge from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 2023 to 2026, and served on the Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based District I court from 2020 to 2026. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

White previously served 18 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, and was chief judge for the 1st Judicial Administrative District from 2015 until her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2020. Earlier in her career, she was a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Life and career White was born in rural Mississippi and raised in a family of cotton sharecroppers. White received her bachelor's degree from Alcorn State University in 1973 and her master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1982. White served in the Milwaukee office of the Social Security Administration before graduating from Marquette University Law School in 1985.

In 2019, a minority of Milwaukee County Judges petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent her being re-appointed to another term as Chief Judge, but the Supreme Court reaffirmed her appointment.

In 2020, White was appointed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals by Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, succeeding the retiring Joan F. Kessler. Upon assuming office, White became the first African-American woman to serve on the Court of Appeals.